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Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner mercenary group, says Russian ‘pincers are getting tighter’ around contested city

Then health secretary tried to get support of then cabinet secretary, according to leaked WhatsApp textsMatt Hancock expressed disdain for Rishi Sunak’s flagship Treasury initiative, “eat out to help out”, during the Covid pandemic, according to the latest cache of leaked WhatsApp messages.The messages show the then-health secretary also attempting to get the support of the then cabinet secretary, Simon Case, in challenging the stance of Sunak, who was the chancellor, and others over some pandemic-era rules. Continue reading...

Operation to locate missing passengers likely to be concluded three days after crash near Larissa that killed at least 57Rescuers are expected to wrap up efforts to find the bodies of victims of a head-on collision of two trains in central Greece, as anger grows over the deadly crash.Three days after the Thessaloniki-bound passenger train slammed into an oncoming freight train outside the town of Tempe, killing at least 57, the operation to locate missing passengers would likely be concluded, officials said. Continue reading...

Files show actor had relationship with Jho Low, on the run over links to 1MDB scandal, and Kim Kardashian was also interviewedNew details have emerged of the actor Leonardo DiCaprio’s ties to Jho Low, the Malaysian financier turned fugitive currently wanted by international authorities over his links to one of the world’s largest corruption scandals.On Thursday, Bloomberg revealed previously undisclosed details from FBI documents in which authorities interviewed DiCaprio in 2018 about his relationship with Low, who is accused of involvement in a money-laundering scheme of over $4.5bn being siphoned from the Malaysian state investment fund, also known as 1MDB. Continue reading...

Germany questions support for rules that would effectively make it impossible to sell combustion engine cars from 2035European Union countries have delayed a planned vote next week on the bloc’s landmark law to end sales of new CO-emitting cars in 2035 after Germany questioned its support for the rules.No new date for the vote was given and a spokesperson for Sweden, which holds the EU’s rotating presidency, said EU countries’ ambassadors would return to the topic “in due time”. Continue reading...

Messages show Hancock urging ministers to ‘get heavy’ with police and making light of hotel quarantine situationMinisters have come under fire from police officers and the travel industry after private messages from Matt Hancock highlighted the rapid and occasionally haphazard way in which they wrote Covid lockdown policies.Senior representatives of the police service attacked the government’s handling of the pandemic after the Telegraph published messages showing the former health secretary urging ministers to “get heavy with the police” over lockdown enforcement. Continue reading...

Residents on Normandy coast describe influx of unfamiliar people after news of 2 tonnes of drug arriving onshoreFrench authorities have warned about “narco-tourism” on northern Channel beaches after news of more than 2 tonnes of cocaine washing ashore drew dozens of beachcombers, some equipped with quad bikes.Residents of villages along the Normandy coast have described an influx of unfamiliar people in luxury cars and 4x4s who have been scouring the sand this week. Continue reading...

Couple charged with manslaughter and concealing a birth will appear at Old Bailey on 31 MarchConstance Marten and Mark Gordon have been remanded in custody charged with the manslaughter of a baby named Victoria.Marten, 35, and Gordon, 48, appeared at Crawley magistrates court on Friday charged with gross negligence manslaughter, concealing the birth of a child and perverting the course of justice. Continue reading...

This live blog has now closed, you can read the full story on the new evidence against Boris Johnson hereThe privileges committee report out today includes evidence that has not been made public before, suggesting Boris Johnson was not being honest with MPs when he told them the Covid rules were followed at all times in No 10.It includes this paragraph.The evidence strongly suggests that breaches of guidance would have been obvious to Mr Johnson at the time he was at the gatherings.There is evidence that those who were advising Mr Johnson about what to say to the press and in the house were themselves struggling to contend that some gatherings were within the rules.The committee of privileges today is taking further steps in its inquiry into the conduct of Rt Hon Boris Johnson MP. Mr Johnson has accepted the committee’s invitation to give oral evidence in public in the week beginning 20March.The exact date and time of the evidence session will be announced shortly. The session arises out of the referral from the House of Commons of the matter to the committee. The session, which will be held in public, will see the committee’s members, comprised of four Conservative, two Labour and one SNP member, question Mr Johnson on a range of matters arising from evidence submitted to the inquiry, as set out in a report published today. Continue reading...

Eugene Shvidler wants expedited court hearing to hear his claim that impounding his jets was wrongA Russian billionaire who is a close associate of the former owner of Chelsea FC, Roman Abramovich, has launched a legal challenge against UK government sanctions imposed on him in response to Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.The case is the first to be launched in the British courts by a Russian hit with sanctions following the invasion of Ukraine, and could serve as a test case for other oligarchs seeking to overturn restrictions such as travel bans or asset freezes. Continue reading...

Trust entered administration owing money to city council, Coventry University and arts groupThe mayor of the West Midlands has called for an investigation into the Coventry city of culture trust, which went into administration this week, resulting in the loss of a three-year legacy programme and 50 jobs.Andy Street said questions needed to be asked of the trust, which was responsible for overseeing legacy projects from the year-long celebration and received a £1m loan from Coventry city council in October. Continue reading...

Boris Johnson in fightback mode after publication of interim report but he is in an increasingly weak positionThere are more photos of Boris Johnson flanked by bottles of wine, new WhatsApp messages between No 10 aides worrying about a leak of “the PM having a piss-up”, and details of the government’s resistance to handing over Partygate evidence.A new interim report from the privileges committee paints a compelling picture of an attempted cover-up by Downing Street, almost a year after the police issued penalties for criminal breaches of the law during the Partygate scandal. Continue reading...

Committee publishes messages of staff ‘struggling’ to defend lockdown parties under Boris Johnson

Care homes hard hit while overall cases up 24% on pre-Covid five-season averageCases of norovirus among people over 65 in England have reached their highest level in a decade, with care homes hard hit by the winter vomiting bug.According to data released by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), there have been 4,551 positive norovirus laboratory reports this season up to the week beginning 13 February, which is 24% higher than the five-season average for the same period before the Covid pandemic struck. Continue reading...

MP apologises after breaching harassment policy with ‘racist comments’Neil Coyle will be suspended from the House of Commons for five days and has made a public apology in parliament after breaching its harassment policy with incidents of “drunken abuse” and “racist comments”.The MP for Bermondsey and Old Southwark was found by the parliamentary standards commissioner to have breached the policy with drunken behaviour in the House of Commons Strangers’ bar last year. He has had the Labour whip withdrawn since February 2022, and Keir Starmer faces a decision over whether to lift the suspension. Continue reading...

Family-run Blank Coffee in south London launches legal challenge saying US Blank Street Coffee is trying to copy its ‘vibe’A family-run vegan cafe in Brixton has launched a legal challenge against the London expansion of a big US coffee chain seeking to rival Starbucks, claiming its “highly similar” brand was causing reputational damage to its “indie vibe”.The David and Goliath trademark dispute sets south London’s Blank Coffee, owned by Warner Newman, 34, and Samantha McKinson, 32, and their popular plant-based cinnamon buns, against Blank Street, a New York brand whose owners are funding their expansion plans with the help of venture capital. Continue reading...

NI secretary throws lifeline to DUP leadership under pressure to reject Rishi Sunak’s revised Brexit dealThe government has promised to underline Northern Ireland’s place in the UK with legal “assurances” in an effort to convince unionists to back Rishi Sunak’s Brexit deal.Chris Heaton-Harris, the Northern Ireland secretary, said on Friday that the government would introduce legislation to allay Democratic Unionist party (DUP) concerns about the Windsor framework. Continue reading...

Disruption relating to issues such as rules on uniforms and use of toilets has taken place at a number of schools since last weekA wave of pupil protests that has taken headteachers by surprise in schools across England and Wales has disparate causes but is being spread via social media, experts have said.The protests, which are being organised and shared on social media platforms such as TikTok and Snapchat, are often about strict uniform codes and rules restricting the use of toilets. Headteachers are particularly concerned because some protests have been supported by parents. Continue reading...

Lobbyist who warned of landlord ‘exodus’ found to have acknowledged to allies sector is actually growingPrivate landlords have been accused of “making up stories” about the state of the rented sector in an attempt to persuade the government to scrap UK tax measures forecast to cost them close to £1bn a year.The allegation came after it emerged a lobbyist for private landlords in England and Wales, who has argued the tax rules have forced them to sell up in an “exodus”, said to allies it was “not terribly helpful” to have to acknowledge that the sector was actually increasing in size. Continue reading...

Talks under way with UK government over timings of project as prices of materials soarThe boss of HS2 has said that construction of the high-speed rail line could be further delayed in an effort to curb costs.Mark Thurston, the chief executive of HS2 Ltd, said soaring inflation had resulted in significant increases in the price of materials, raising the already ballooning cost of the much-delayed project to link London, the Midlands and the north of England. Continue reading...

London sale comes after owners’ descendants, one of whom was murdered at Auschwitz, reunited with work found in Dutch museumA Wassily Kandinsky masterpiece that had been stolen by the Nazis, who killed its owner in the Auschwitz concentration camp in 1944, has been sold for a record £37.2m at auction in London.The painting was sold at Sotheby’s on behalf of the great-grandchildren of the owner. They were recently reunited with the 1910 work, titled Murnau mit Kirche II (Murnau with Church II), which had been discovered in a museum in Eindhoven in the Netherlands. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Rochdale council settled case after it was revealed the school Hazel Healey worked in contained asbestosThe family of a teacher who died of cancer due to asbestos exposure at her school has won a settlement, prompting warnings that staff and pupils remain at risk in older buildings.Hazel Healey worked in St Gabriel’s school between 1971 and 1980, and died aged 73 in May 2022 after she was diagnosed with mesothelioma – which is nearly always caused by asbestos exposure – in October 2020. Continue reading...

Firms told to prepare two sets of rates for units of gas and electricity for March

Controversial former bandleader says he wanted to ‘re-address the political and emotional message’ of album that turns 50 years old this weekRoger Waters has revealed the first minute of music from his re-recorded version of Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon, after the original turned 50 years old this week.He posted a clip of himself listening to a new recording of the song Us and Them, along with an explanation of the project, which does not feature his former bandmates. Waters wrote the original album’s lyrics, confronting war, capital, death and other weighty existential themes, and said he wanted to “re-address the political and emotional message of the whole album”, adding:We are now in the process of finishing the final mix. It’s turned out really great and I’m excited for everyone to hear it. It’s not a replacement for the original which, obviously, is irreplaceable. But it is a way for the 79-year-old man to look back across the intervening 50 years into the eyes of the 29-year-old and say, to quote a poem of mine about my father, “We did our best, we kept his trust, our Dad would have been proud of us”. And also it is a way for me to honour a recording that Nick and Rick and Dave and I have every right to be very proud of. Continue reading...

Crime writers have paid tribute to the London-born author behind the long-running detective series, who was diagnosed with cancer in 2020Christopher Fowler, author of the Bryant & May series of detective novels, has died at the age of 69, having been diagnosed with cancer three years ago.Fowler was best known for his Bryant & May thrillers, featuring the veteran detectives solving unusual crimes in London from the second world war to the present day. The series began with Full Dark House in 2003, and 17 more novels followed, most recently London Bridge Is Falling Down, published in 2021. A further book exploring the London of the characters, Bryant & May’s Peculiar London, came out last year. Continue reading...

Shadow culture secretary’s comments follow decision to hire civil servant who oversaw Partygate inquiry

Australia, the US, India and Japan join to ‘counter new and emerging forms of terrorism, radicalisation to violence and violent extremism’. This blog is now closed

Loyal bank customers are not necessarily rewarded, so shop around for a better-paying accountMPs this week had a go at bank bosses about their stingy savings rates, particularly on instant access accounts, saying that they seemed to be “taking advantage” of loyal customers. But you don’t have to put up with rubbish rates, as there are savings accounts out there paying up to 7% interest.The official Bank of England base rate is now 4%, yet the returns offered by some widely held accounts are lagging way behind. The Barclays Everyday Saver easy access account offers only 0.55% interest and Santander Everyday Saver pays 0.6%, while the Lloyds Bank Easy Saver is offering only 0.65% unless you have got £25,000-plus stashed away. Continue reading...

Kem Sokha, an opponent of Cambodian dictator Hun Sen, sentenced after treason trial widely seen as politically drivenProminent Cambodian opposition politician Kem Sokha has been sentenced to 27 years in prison after being found guilty of treason, in a case widely condemned as politically motivated.The former leader of the dissolved opposition party the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) was arrested in 2017 and accused of conspiring with the US to oust Cambodia’s authoritarian leader, Hun Sen, who has ruled for almost four decades. Continue reading...

Supreme court rules for freedom of association but landmark decision sparks backlash from government and churchesThe supreme court of Kenya has criticised the government for failure to register an association for LGBTQ+ people, saying the decision discriminates against the rights of the community.Although same-sex unions remain illegal in Kenya, the court ruled that everyone has a right of association. It is the culmination of a decade-long legal battle, and a victory for the LGBTQ+ community. Continue reading...

Los Angeles hospital accused of ignoring Black woman’s pain and neglecting her as baby’s father gave her CPRApril Valentine planned to have a complication-free delivery and to enjoy her life as a first-time parent to a healthy baby girl. Instead, California’s department of health and human services is investigating the circumstances of the Black woman’s death during childbirth at an Inglewood hospital.Valentine, a 31-year-old Black woman, went to Centinela hospital in Inglewood on 9 January and died the next day. Her daughter Aniya was born via an emergency caesarean section. Her family and friends say that staff at the hospital ignored the pregnant woman’s complaints of pain, refused to let her doula be in the hospital room during the birth and neglected Valentine as her child’s father performed CPR on her. Continue reading...

Half a million more women than men are paid below real living wage and 13% are on zero-hours contractsHalf a million more working women are paid below the real living wage than their male counterparts, according to data from the Living Wage Foundation.It says women have been harder hit by the cost of living crisis because they tend to earn less. Continue reading...

Exclusive: University College London to develop language programme in secondary schools over three yearsMinisters have awarded an almost £15m contract to tackle the systemic decline in the number of pupils in England taking foreign languages at GCSE and A-level.University College London’s Institute of Education will develop and roll out the Department of Education’s £14.9m language programme in primary and secondary schools over the next three years, with a focus on increasing opportunities among disadvantaged pupils. Continue reading...

K8 boxes are last in the line of classics, say campaigners as nine still in working order get heritage protectionNine rare cream-coloured public phone boxes that are still in working order have been given heritage protection by the government.The K8 phone boxes are all cream – rather than red – because they are in Hull, the only place in England where the local council ran the public telephone network. Continue reading...

Mercury forecast to top 30C in Sydney over the weekend, before rising to 35C on Monday

New data reveals public teachers consistently instructing around two students per class more than independent educators

Experts call email cautioning workers over social media use ‘unreasonable’, citing cost-of-living crisis and fight for pay rise

Auction of 43 props and costumes held by film studio A24 raises more than US$500,000 for charitiesHotdog hand prosthetics, a raccoon puppet dubbed Raccacoonie and a rock with googly eyes have fetched thousands of dollars in an online auction of props from the award-season favourite film, Everything Everywhere All at Once.The week-long auction, which ended on Thursday, featured 43 props and costumes from the multiverse comedy-drama, which is nominated for 11 Oscars. The film stars Michelle Yeoh as Evelyn Wang, a Chinese-American laundromat owner who is trying to hold her life and family together while hopping between universes to save the world.Sign up for the fun stuff with our rundown of must-reads, pop culture and tips for the weekend, every Saturday morning Continue reading...

Lawyers for survivors and families of victims had urged postponement due to sheer volume of disclosure and delays in receiving, accessing and reviewing itAn inquest hearing into the deaths of 51 Muslims in a white supremacist terror attack on two Christchurch mosques has been postponed, after bereaved families and survivors raised “reasonable concerns” that vital evidence could be missed if it went ahead as scheduled, the coroner heading the inquiry says.The inquiry will address questions not covered by previous investigations into the 15 March 2019 terrorist attack, in which an Australian gunman opened fire on worshipers during Friday prayers while livestreaming the massacre on Facebook. Continue reading...

Department of Education figures reveal all but three universities reported a surplus, including $1bn for the University of Sydney

Gender-sensitive audit also urges quotas for governing bodies and a new permanent proxy-voting schemeHolyrood’s presiding officer is calling for a ban on all-male committees, alongside quotas for key governing bodies and a new permanent proxy-voting scheme, in order to improve gender equality within the Scottish parliament.Publishing the findings of the first gender-sensitive audit on Friday, Alison Johnstone – the Holyrood equivalent of the Commons speaker – warned “equal representation of women is not yet embedded within the parliament, nor is it guaranteed going forward”. Continue reading...

Highlands-London service will be run by state-owned company after operator Serco loses contract seven years earlyThe Caledonian Sleeper rail service will be nationalised after Scottish ministers moved to terminate the operating company’s franchise agreement seven years early.It will be operated by an arm’s length company owned by the Scottish government from 25 June, transport minister Jenny Gilruth told MSPs in Holyrood on Thursday. Continue reading...

Pair also charged with concealing birth of a child and perverting the course of justice after infant was found dead on WednesdayA couple have been charged with gross negligence manslaughter, concealing the birth of a child and perverting the course of justice after the remains of a baby were found in woodland in Sussex.The Metropolitan police said Constance Marten, 35, and Mark Gordon, 48, had been charged with three offences. They are due to appear in custody at Crawley magistrates court on Friday. Continue reading...

Friends of former PM say appointment calls into question parliamentary inquiry into whether Johnson misled MPsAllies of Boris Johnson have launched an all-out effort to scupper a parliamentary inquiry into Partygate after the senior official who led an initial inquiry into the scandal was unexpectedly unveiled as Keir Starmer’s new chief of staff.The hire is a major coup for Starmer, who has been looking to appoint a veteran civil servant to prepare the party for government. Continue reading...

Christopher Kunzelman was renovating a home in a village on Maui in 2014 when he was attacked and called a ‘haole’In a case that reflects Hawaii’s nuanced and complicated relationship with race, two Native Hawaiian men are scheduled to be sentenced on Thursday for a federal hate crime in the brutal beating of a white man who tried to move into their remote traditional fishing village.A jury convicted Kaulana Alo-Kaonohi and Levi Aki Jr in November, finding that they were motivated by Christopher Kunzelman’s race when they punched, kicked and used a shovel to beat him in 2014. His injuries included a concussion, two broken ribs and head trauma. Continue reading...

The children of the late singer-songwriter have filed a motion claiming that his signed trust, valued at $48m, was forgedThe children and heirs of the late Canadian singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen have accused his former manager and his attorneys of forgery.A motion filed by 48-year-old Lorca and 50-year-old Adam Cohen and reviewed by Variety indicates that Cohen’s two adult children accuse Cohen’s former manager Robert Kory along with his legal representatives of forgery of Cohen’s signed trust that is valued at $48m. Continue reading...

Leaked WhatsApp exchanges from then health secretary to top civil servant in 2020 reveal concerns over enforcement of rulesMatt Hancock told Britain’s most senior civil servant they would need to “get heavy with the police” in order to enforce lockdown rules during the Covid pandemic, leaked messages have revealed.WhatsApp correspondence from a Daily Telegraph investigation shows how Hancock and Simon Case feared that officers were not doing enough to stop people from breaking the rules in August 2020. At the time, Case was in his last month as Downing Street permanent secretary. Continue reading...

People who lost loved ones and their representatives speak out as MI5 is accused of a ‘devastating’ failureFamilies of the victims of the Manchester Arena attack accused MI5 of a “devastating” failure after an official inquiry found the spy agency had missed a “significant opportunity” to stop the blast carried out by Salman Abedi. Here, they respond to the inquiry’s verdict: Continue reading...

Ex-PM criticises sensitivity edit of author’s works – and also rejects sending Parthenon marbles to GreeceBoris Johnson has criticised a publisher’s rewriting of some language in Roald Dahl’s stories by reciting a song by the Oompa-Loompas.The former prime minister expressed his “irritation at wokeness and political correctness” after Puffin made extensive changes to the author’s work to remove language it deemed offensive. Continue reading...

Government says rail projects beset by ‘chronic public sector ills’, as death toll from crash rises to 57Thousands of Greeks have taken to the streets for a second day of protests as anger mounts over the loss of life in Tuesday night’s head-on train crash.Braving torrential rain and thunder, demonstrators marched from the office headquarters of Hellenic Train in Athens to the Greek parliament, chanting “this crime will not be forgotten”. Continue reading...